Automation has been an integral part of industrial processes such as chemical, pharmaceutical, food products, and oil & gas for many years and its impact has been profound. The Instrumentation, Control and Automation at an industrial processes have been at the vanguard of all automation endeavors in the landscape. However, of late, the industry has not kept pace with the latest innovations and the automation initiatives, which were modern at the time of implementation, but have become now outdated with reference to advancements in the technologies such as virtualization, network, IoT, and servers etc. Meanwhile, processes automation of other business process consisting of separate entities has significantly advanced, leading to a widening gap between business processes automation and industrial processes automation. B.E.S.T. (Business & Engineering Solutions Team) Inc., a Houston, TX-based automation solutions provider, was born out of the necessity to bridge this gap. The firm leverages the best of existing technologies to modernize automation at oil refineries, terminals, and various industrial processes. “We incorporate virtualization, IoT, and artificial intelligence to bring forth a cost-effective, reliant, and efficient Terminal Automation process and various industrial processes,” states BEST CEO Girish Ranade.

To understand how BEST engineers a modern industrial automation process, it is imperative to dig deep into their work methodologies. The firm acknowledges the value of making the latest technologies work in unison with legacy systems. To ensure the best of both worlds, BEST is committed to staying adept in modern technology implementations while staying abreast of legacy automation systems.

“Our approach is simple, we don’t focus only on modernizing the technology, instead we modernize the methodology of implementation. Standardization of equipment specification that is in sync with the latest technology as well as optimizing the performance of human machine interface, programming logic controllers, distributed control systems, and better testing/research lab facilities with industrial standards are key aspects of our approach,” elucidates Ranade.

BEST offers a gamut of high quality, cost-effective automation solutions that also include remote and on-site engineering.

Our approach is simple, we don’t focus only on modernizing the technology, instead we modernize the methodology of implementation

“We have expertise in handling the complete project as an independent remote activity from our office or the client’s location,” Ranade explains. The firm incorporates DCS, PLC, and SCADA implementation as part of its solution that transcends into control automation design engineering services, alarm management, process safety management, and computer validation process. BEST standardizes DCS/SCADA configuration to reduce development time, thereby ingraining time-saving elements into their solutions.

As a part of organizational growth strategy, BEST has joined hands with industry giants like Honeywell, Rockwell, Dell, Cisco, Microsoft, and VMware. Such partnerships have resulted in healthy exchange of knowledge, information, and feedbacks, which in turn has propelled many innovative projects. Adducing an instance, Ranade emphasizes the role VMware and Dell’s latest FX-2 server technology played in BEST’s virtualization endeavors that culminated into a turnkey automation solution for industrial processes. With the help of such collaborations, BEST is all set to foray into the IoT realm in coming years. The firm’s roadmap is intertwined with IoT and the research team is busy brainstorming IoT solutions that will surprise the tech community.

Aside from emphasizing modernization of industrial automation, Ranade stresses on the human element that every organization should take note of. A right mix of employees is quintessential for organizational growth. To that end, BEST not only employs highly motivated and dedicated individuals but also ensures there is a right blend of older generation workforce and millennials. Such diversified mental profiles facilitate wide ranging idea exchange among employees, leading to better product development that in turn quickens technology adoption.